


To Endure and Survive

by tardistype221b (TardisType221b)



Category: Supernatural, The Last of Us
Genre: Alternate Universe - Apocalypse, Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Angst, M/M, Protective Dean Winchester, Sick Sam Winchester, The Last of Us AU, Wincest Big Bang 2015
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-14
Updated: 2015-09-14
Packaged: 2018-04-20 17:45:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4796534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TardisType221b/pseuds/tardistype221b
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's 2028 and 13 years ago, when Dean was only four years old, the world was ravaged by a fungal virus that destroyed most of humanity, turning them into raging monsters. The little bit of it that's left is holed up in different quarantine zones all around the country. Dean and Sam live in the Pittsburgh Zone, trying their best to survive day to day. But the city is on the cusp of revolution and things are more desperate than ever. They need to get out. But there's one problem. Sam's infected. (The Last of Us AU)  (No knowledge of the Last of Us required to understand)</p>
            </blockquote>





	To Endure and Survive

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my beta kjhaff and my artist Mary Twist for really doing an amazing job!

Dean drifted slowly to consciousness. The beeping was maddening and it wouldn't stop. He turned over slowly and blindly felt around for the alarm clock, smacking the button quickly so that it wouldn't wake up Sammy. He opened his eyes. It was still dark out; the clock read five-thirty am. He carefully got up from the dirty mattress they were laying on and tucked the threadbare blanket around Sammy, who whimpered in his fitful sleep.

Dean went into the kitchen and turned on the light, opening the cabinets and looking at the pitiful rations inside. There was almost nothing left. His ration cards weren't enough to feed the both of them, now that Sammy wasn't going to school anymore and getting his own. And of course, the military had to be assholes again and cut the rations down to a quarter of what they once were.

He closed the cabinets with a sigh. He had been holding out on going on a job for the past few weeks, trying to take care of Sammy because of how ill he had been, just going to his normal work shift. But that wasn't going to cut it anymore. They would starve if he didn't do something.

Dean opened up the small chest of drawers in the adjoined living room and changed into his work clothes quickly, shuddering slightly because of the cold. He was actually a little thankful for the cold as of late since he couldn't leave much skin exposed, lest he'd get hurt from the machines at the factory. It was the only thing he could do to protect himself since working conditions were laughably bad. Then again, since when did the army give a shit about anybody? Dean thought to himself. At least now, since it wasn't too hot yet, he wouldn't be sweltering.

Dean went back to the bedroom after brushing his teeth and knelt down on the mattress next to Sam, gently pushing his hair away from his face. Sam opened his eyes sluggishly and looked at Dean.

"Hey, Sammy." Dean whispered gently, a small smile on his face. "I'm just heading to work, okay? I'll be back later. Let me just check on the bite really quick." Sam didn't put up any resistance as Dean lowered the blanket, and then tugged up his shirt, despite the cold. The bite was still the same as it was everyday, healed over, not festering, and most importantly, not spreading, when by all accounts Sam should've been long dead. Sam should be one of those soulless, infected, mindless creatures, but here he was, sick, but still him, still alive.

He could feel Sam shudder from the cold and he pulled his shirt back down and bundled him up in the thin blanket as best as he could. It was the only one they could afford, but it was better than nothing. "I'll be back soon, okay, Sammy?" Dean murmured softly, running his fingers through Sam's hair. "I should have some food with me too." He leaned down and gave Sam a kiss on his forehead.

Sam smiled, but his stare was vacant. Dean wondered if he had even heard him at all. Dean slipped out of their apartment quietly, walking on the dimly lit streets towards the factory with the other workers. The PA girl's voice was droning over the speakers "Attention. The six am shift starts in ten minutes. All drafted citizens must report for duty. Anyone absent at roll call is in violation of the law and will be taken into custody." Dean ignored it. It was the same thing everyday after all, and even the PA girl's voice couldn't drive out the worries about Sam.

Sam had been getting worse and worse lately, and Dean was at his wits end. First it was just the headaches, such horrible migraines that Sam would be bedridden. Dean wasted ten ration cards getting him some extra strength migraine relief medicine. But that only worked for a little while. Then Sam kept stumbling, complaining about how his legs felt like they were asleep all the time. It just kept getting worse and worse until it hit the breaking point where Sam had a seizure at the end of his class. Dean considered them lucky that he was able to get to Sam before they checked for signs of infection.

But now it was only a matter of time before they were found out. He didn't know what to do, and he couldn't go to anyone for help because they'd just shoot Sam dead for having that bite, being infected. They had to get out of this hell hole, before it was too late. He had to take a job, because there was no way that he was going to be able to travel with Sam on foot. They needed a car, and that would be impossible to get. They barely had any ration cards for themselves, much less enough to spend on a car. Especially after Dean spent the ones he had to get Sam his medication.

He scanned his ID card when he reached the entrance of the factory and headed off to work. It was a long and grueling day as usual, loading sharp lead wire into the machines constantly to make the inside of bullets. It was one of the few things the government deemed worthy of actually making new, rather than things like clothes and shoes. Dean understood why; it was for their protection. But people needed other things too, and working in this factory for twelve hours everyday made him bitter.

When his fifteen minute lunch break finally came around, he spent it in the break room talking with Ash, as he had no ration cards to spend at the ration distribution center for lunch.

"Hey Dean, how you doing?" Ash asked when Dean sat on the bench next to him.

"Not good, man. I'm out of _everything._  I need your help, man, or Sammy and I..." Dean trailed off with a shrug, sure that Ash could fill in the blanks.

"Alright, well I got something that I was actually gonna come talk to you about. There's a job going for 100 ration cards." Ash told him, leaning in and lowering his voice in secrecy. Dean's eyes widened in disbelief.

"No way, man. I call bullshit. It's one of the soldiers trying to shark us."

"Yeah that's what I thought." Ash agreed. "But I looked into it, and it's real, dude. It's from the Fireflies." Dean shook his head.

"No way I can't get messed up in-" He cut himself off. If they didn't get out of here soon and get Sam to someone that could help him, Sam would be dead. If they got caught by the soldiers, they would already be dead. This was the chance he needed. It didn't matter that the job was for the Fireflies, the renegade militia group that was under constant target for the soldiers. If he got those ration cards, he would be able to get supplies _and_ a car. Then he could get Sam far away from here, to the research facility that could help them. He had no choice.

"Never mind. I'll take it, what do I have to do?"

They discussed the details until Dean's lunch break was over, with plans to meet after their shifts to gather up the necessary supplies, especially since Dean didn't have much. But first, Dean had to check up on Sammy. He was sure Sam was so hungry by now. Dean could feel his own stomach cramping, but he ignored it. Muscles aching from his hard shift at the factory, Dean walked slowly up the dark stairwell to his apartment. He had been assigned to the wire machine for the third day in a row and his arms were so sore feeding the wire into the machine constantly, having to hold his arms up in such an awkward position. He was running on empty but he had to make do. For Sammy.

Dean entered the apartment and opened the cabinets again. Only two small cans of peaches were left. He opened up the first can and poured it into a bowl. Dean couldn't help but stare for a minute. They looked so tempting, Surely Sammy wouldn't miss just one peach slice? Dean shook his head fiercely. He couldn't think like that. Sammy was sick,  and he needed the food way more. He took the bowl into the bedroom and sat down on the mattress, helping Sammy sit before he fed him the peaches, one by one.

"There you go." Dean breathed out after giving Sammy a bit of water and laying him down. "I bet you feel better now, huh?" Sam nodded slowly.

"Yeahhh." His speech was slurred; the numbness had spread from Sam's arms and legs to his facial muscles last week, making it difficult to talk, or eat. "Youuuu- you eat?"

"Yeah, Sammy." Dean lied. "I ate already. Now I gotta go out again, be good for me, okay? Try to get some more rest." Sam was already slipping into unconsciousness, and Dean kissed him on the forehead. "I'll be back soon." He tucked Sammy into the blanket again and closed the door behind him as he left.

It was almost curfew, so he had to move quickly. Dean walked the five blocks to Ash's apartment building and quickly let himself inside, taking the steps as quickly as he could in his weakened state.

"There you are, man!" Ash whispered when he opened his door, his eyes wide. "I was worried you wouldn't show." He stepped aside and let Dean into the apartment. "Well, I got everything you needed. Two guns, fully loaded, directions to the meet up, and your task."

"Which is?" Dean asked as he leaned against the wall, lessening the burden on his legs.

"You gotta meet up with a couple of other dudes. Your goal is to find the body of a Firefly who was apparently carrying some very important item on her person. Once you find the item, bring it back to the Fireflies, and they'll give you your payment then. They're leaving here soon, so that's why they're offering this many cards." The Fireflies were leaving? Dean wondered to himself. This has to be serious.

"And do I get to know what the item is? And are we going into a hot zone? Is that why it isn't just one or two people?"

"According to Jody, it's a record of all the members of the Pittsburgh chapter of the Fireflies. It's extremely dangerous because if it falls into the military's hands, they could systematically wipe out every Firefly here before they get a chance to leave." Ash explained. "And yeah, sorry dude, you're going into a hot zone."

Dean sighed. "Of course." Then Ash surprised him by handing him a bowl. Inside he saw a few small slices of pineapple. "What's this?" He asked Ash in confusion, his eyebrows furrowing.

"I have some ration cards to spare, Dean, and I know you. You probably haven't eaten in days. Am I right?" He asked.

Dean looked down sheepishly. "Yeah," He admitted, shrugging one shoulder.

"Then eat this. You won't be at your best out there if you're starving. I don't wanna see you killed man."

Dean couldn't resist anymore and immediately stuffed one of the pieces into his mouth. It was so juicy and perfect, so he chewed as slowly as he could, trying to savor it. It was a lost cause. All five pieces were gone in a matter of minutes. Dean's stomach growled a little; he was still hungry.

"Thanks man." Dean nodded at Ash in thanks, knowing that that pineapple could be the difference between life and death.

"Anytime. I don't like to see you so...thin. It is not a good look." Ash motioned down at Dean's body, which had significantly thinned out over the past few months.

"Yeah, I agree. Well..." He trailed off as he glanced at the clock. "Time to go and earn these cards, maybe then I won't be hungry." He packed up his supplies and headed downstairs. Curfew had gone into effect five minutes ago, so he had to be careful. He waited til there wasn't any soldiers passing by and slipped outside, heading towards the alley so he could enter the north tunnel, which was thankfully only a few streets down. He walked quickly, hiding whenever he heard the rumble of a truck. Eventually, he made his way inside the building and climbed down into the north tunnel. It was thankfully clear. He really didn't want to deal with infected right before being thrown into a hot zone.

The last time he had encountered some infected, a few months prior, on the last job he had gone on, it was not good. He was alone and had accidentally stumbled upon a small nest of three clickers. They were all walking around, clicking and screeching, trying to find him, having heard the faint noise of his footsteps earlier. Those things had such good hearing. Dean guessed it was the way they compensated for being blind. Those disgusting things... they had fungal plates growing all over them and mushrooms sprouting everywhere. They were almost impossible to take out without a double tap straight to head or a knife right in their brain. Taking out three at once was almost impossible, but he had done it.

How had everything come to this? Where the world was full of infected people...that really weren't people anymore. Just shells, with everything that made them human expunged long ago. The last vestiges of humanity were scattered around either by themselves, or in one of these oppressive towns, like Pittsburgh.

Dean remembered, ever so vaguely, his mother, with her beautiful smile, and pretty blonde hair. He remembered TV, and barbeques. He remembered never feeling hungry, and always being warm and safe. But it all came to an end when he was four, when the cordyceps virus was unleashed onto the world. It started in Texas and just worked its way up, killing and destroying the world in its wake. After his mother died, Dean remembered weeks of running North with Dad and Baby Sammy until Dad died. They somehow made it to the Pittsburgh Quarantine Zone and were finally let in,the soldiers taking pity, and that's where they had been ever since.

He had to stop thinking about it. Every time he thought about his childhood, he always resented those who actually got a chance to experience it, to have _real_ memories of a life before this hell, rather than foggy, faint wisps, that only served to make him bitter. That life, it wasn't real, not anymore. Sammy was real, and he's all that mattered. Nothing mattered more than getting Sam out of there, and getting him help.

Once he exited the tunnel, he walked out of the yard that it had deposited him in, crossed through a building, and started walking along the dark street to the meeting place, keeping an ear out for patrols and infected. After about fifty minutes of walking, he met up with the other guys. One of them looked just as starved and desperate as he did, but the other three seemed to be veterans at this, all with cold looking expressions. They introduced themselves and they all headed off to the suburbs which is where Jody said the Firefly would be.

"Can't believe Jody saddled us with a damn kid." He could hear one of the guys, Gordon, mumble under his breath. Dean didn't speak up. He didn't want to risk it getting ugly before they even got there. It rankled him, though. Dean knew that he could do just as good as them. He felt a hand clap onto his shoulder and Dean whipped his head around to see who did it. It was Cole.

"Don't worry." Cole whispered. "Gordon's just distrustful around strangers."

Dean scoffed internally. Sure.

When they were about halfway there, one of the other guys, Roy, beckoned them all behind a rusted out car. He pointed out the broken window and they could all see flashlights coming from the far left. Shit. Soldiers.

"Okay. Listen up." Gordon stepped up as the leader. "We need to go that way." He pointed to the far right. "So we need to sneak past them. As you can see, this is a pretty open area, not much cover, so whatever you do, don't make noise. If the soldiers shine those flashlights on us, we are _fucked,_ okay? Got it?" He gave Dean a pointed look and Dean raged internally.

"Yeah." Everybody agreed, so they began slowly making their way over to the building at the far end of the street. If they could get in there they would be safe from the eyes of the soldiers. But right before they were about to reach another piece of cover, they heard it. _Click-Click-Screech-Click_. Dean froze in fear. It was a Clicker. He whipped around gun drawn but he was too late. Someone had already took the shot and the clicker laid in a heap on the ground, brain matter oozing from its head, fungal plates broken off, and its face distorted. It was disgusting. Dean glanced at Walt, whose eyes were wide in fear as his gun was pointing at the dead clicker.

Dean hit the ground as shots were fired in their direction from the soldiers, who had heard Walt's gun go off, but he was too late. He had been hit in the shoulder and he could feel the pain radiating from where the bullet was lodged in his skin. Dean struggled to pull himself up from the ground and he felt hands tugging him up and leaning him heavily against the short wall that he was behind. He could see that Gordon, Roy, and Walt were long gone. Cole was still there kneeling next to him.

"I gotta-" Cole started, looking around frantically. The soldiers were coming closer. "I gotta go, man. I'm sorry!" Cole quickly ran off and Dean resigned himself to his fate. He was going to die out here and Sammy... oh god, Sammy would die. He would be able to survive this if it wasn't for the soldiers that would discover him any second. His heart pounded in fear waiting for the shot to the head that he knew would be coming. He just wished he could say goodbye to Sammy one last time. A tear slipped down his cheek as he thought of Sam, all alone, wondering if he would ever come home, hungry and sick. He remembered when all of this horror began, just a few weeks ago.

It was a little after eight on a random Tuesday, and Dean was worried sick. The last time he had seen Sam was the night before, when they had gone to sleep. He had to go to work, scared out of his mind that something had happened to Sam. He could barely concentrate at work, his mind always wandering to dark imaginings of what could've happened to Sam. It took everything he had not to break down that day. He was reprimanded three times by his supervisor for not loading the machine fast enough. Dean wished he didn't have to go to work but he was not allowed to search until his shift was over for fear of getting arrested, though he put out feelers during his lunch break.

After two hours of walking throughout Pittsburgh, feeling as if he checked every dark alley and looked around every corner, he returned home. He climbed the stairs of the apartment building up to the fifth floor, and let himself into their apartment, heart beating faster in anticipation as he heard hitching sobs coming from the bedroom. Dean ran into the bedroom kneeling on the mattress next to Sam and pulling him into his arms.

"Oh god, Sammy." Dean breathed, his voicing hitching with emotion. "Where have you been? I was worried sick." Sam was sobbing into his shoulder, ugly crying with tear tracks all over his face and even snot.

Dean was scared, Sam never cried like this. Not for a long time. It had to be bad.

"Sammy? What's wrong?" Dean asked warily, pulling Sam away from his shoulder so he could look him in the eye.

Sam just started crying harder.

"Sam? What is it, man? You're scaring me!" Dean shouted, heart racing. What could it be that had Sam so messed up? Dean wondered. Then Sam lifted his shirt, and Dean saw on the left side of Sam's torso, a bite, still red and bleeding sluggishly.

Dean felt as if his heart had fallen down to his stomach.

"Oh no. No, no, no, no, no!!!" This couldn't be happening. Sammy couldn't be bitten. He couldn't turn into one of those things. One of the infected. Not after he had worked so hard, had sacrificed so much to keep Sammy safe. Tears streamed down his face now.

He hugged Sam again, even closer than before, never wanting to let go. Not when he had such little time left. But Dean eventually let go of Sam and sat down on the mattress looking down at his hands. If only he had kept a better eye on Sam, then he wouldn't have gotten himself bit. He needed a drink.

Sam sat next to him.

"Dean." Sam croaked, voice still rough from crying. "Dean don't beat yourself up about this. It's okay."

"How can it be okay, Sam? You're dying! Any minute, any hour, you could turn into one of those things! How am I supposed to be okay with that? How am I supposed to live with that?"

"I don't know, Dean." Sam muttered morosely, placing a hand on Dean's shoulder. "But you have to try for me."

"Sam, I can't do this without you. I love you, Sammy. I'm _in love_ with you, Sammy. I don't know what to do now, you're dying, you're gonna be gone forever. I can't take it Sammy."

"Wait, wait, Dean!" Sam interrupted trying to cut in. Dean looked up at Sam, his cheeks red from crying.

"What?"

"Did you mean it?" Sam asked, staring intently at Dean.

"Mean what?"

"That you're in love with me."

"What? Oh." Dean looked down and blushed ever so slightly. "Y-Yeah I did. I'm sorry. I know it's wrong, you can just forget I said-"

"No!" Sam exclaimed, shaking his head, his hair flopping all over the place. "I'm not gonna forget you said anything, Dean. Because I love you too, and I'm so fucking happy that it isn't just me feeling this way."

"How...how can you feel that way, Sammy? I'm your _brother_."

"You think I don't know that, Dean?" Sam scoffed. "Yeah, you're my brother. You know what else you are? You're the person who's been with me always, you're the one that works back breaking 12 hour shifts everyday to keep us fed and housed, you're the one that sleeps next to me in bed every night and who helps me with my homework. But you're also the one who just cried more than I've ever seen you cry in my entire life when you found out about my bite." Sam took Dean's hand in both of his.

"So don't you dare say that's it's not okay, or that you don't deserve it. You love me, Dean, and I love you too, and for the little time I have left...we're going to revel in it."

"But..." Dean started and then trailed off. Everything that Sam had said touched him deeply. His main focus in life was to take care of Sammy. That was his goal, to keep Sammy safe, and he had failed, but yet Sammy still believed in him. Sam still loved him, and thought the world of him. Maybe this could work, for the little time that they had left, Dean pushed back the tears that came to his eyes as he thought about it. There was a feeling of dread in his stomach at the realization that...that he would have to kill Sammy. No. He couldn't do that he'd rather die first.

"But-"

"But nothing, Dean, okay? Don't push me away!"

"Okay, Sammy." Dean finally whispered. "I promise I won't push you away." He couldn't push him away, not when Sam was so close to death. When he was so close to losing Sammy forever.

Sam smiled. "Good. Now can I kiss you?" Dean nodded enthusiastically and Sam leaned up and gently pressed his soft, boyish lips to Dean's chapped ones.

Dean would remember that kiss, and those next few days for the rest of his life. They were blissfully in love and aside from school and work, they were never apart, spending hours wrapped in each others arms. But days passed, and Sam still hadn't turned. Despite being relieved, both knew that something was very wrong; those who were bitten usually turned within a day.

Dean opened his eyes to a flashlight being shined in his face.

"Oh, you're alive." He heard a deep voice say. The soldier bent down and moved his head away from the wall, placing the scanner at the nape of his neck. It beeped. "And not infected." The soldier continued, talking to himself. "Oh, but you're hurt, and Anna and I won't be able to carry you back." He rummaged around in Dean's pockets trying to find his ID. But Dean had left it at home. "Uriel will not be pleased if I call him for backup for this. Especially if you're not a resident of Pittsburgh."

"Please. I am." Dean rasped. "Don't leave me here." Dean hissed in pain as he put pressure on his wound to stop the bleeding. Maybe by some miracle he wouldn't be killed.

"What were you doing out here then? Citizens are not supposed to be outside the walls."

"You know what?" Dean spat regaining a bit more of strength as he placed pressure on his wound and the bleeding slowed. "Trying to get more cards 'cause of you assholes." Dean mentally kicked himself. Was antagonizing the soldier really the best idea? He could imagining Sam elbowing him the minute he started that sentence, if he was here.

"Supplies are dangerously low." The soldier growled, defending himself.

"Yeah, that's what you all say to make each other feel better, giving us all quarter-rations, if you give us any at all, while you all look like you could lose some of those rations!" Dean sneered in rage. He was fucked, so fucked. This soldier was gonna kill him and sure enough he heard the click of the safety coming off and the weapon being aimed right at his head.

"How dare you, _boy._ Do you really think that speaking this way will help you now? You are injured, and whether you live or die is up to me. So you should _watch your tone_." The soldier stated, his voice full of fury.

"No, please!" Dean exclaimed, panicked, eyes widening in fear. He hated to resort to begging but he had dug himself into this hole.

"And why should I listen to you? I have many other duties to attend to. It would be much easier to just dispose of you."

"My brother's infected!" Dean blurted out. The soldier seemed thrown by this, so Dean took advantage of this window of opportunity. "My brother's infected, and he's in the zone, I'm the only one who knows where. If you don't let me live, and get me some help, you will never know, and you could be facing a serious fucking problem. Aside from, you know, the revolution that's brewing." Dean finished, looking at the soldier with a smirk.

The soldier was deliberating and Dean was growing anxious. What if he had fucked it all up? "Please, man, you can kill me if you want, but please check on Sam. He's been infected for weeks and he's _survived._ I don't know how, but he's survived, he hasn't become one of those things, but he's sick. He's really sick and if nobody helps him he'll die, like for real, and I can't... oh god. I can't have that happen. He's my brother."

Then the soldier lowered his gun and knelt beside Dean, and now that he was closer Dean could see him more clearly. He had piercing blue eyes, and jet-black hair mussed from his helmet, which he had just removed.

"I will help you." He finally muttered in that deep voice of his. He disarmed Dean of the two guns and his knife and then reached into one of his pockets, pulling out his medkit. "The bleeding seems to have slowed. If I extract the bullet, I can wrap it up and you should be alright." The soldier pulled out some alcohol and began disinfecting the wound and Dean hissed in pain.

"What's your name?" The soldier asked, trying to distract him from the pain.

"I'm Dean." Dean replied once the pain had subsided a bit. "And you?"

"I am Sergeant Castiel Novak."

"Sergeant that's pretty up there right?" Dean asked.

"Moderately so." Castiel replied as he began digging the bullet out of Dean's shoulder. "I command my own group of soldiers, though it was just my superior Anna and I on this patrol today."

"Where's she?" Dean asked, gritting his teeth from the pain of Castiel digging around in his wound.

"She's scouting ahead to see where your accomplices went."

"Oh okay." Dean replied, remaining quiet after that until the bullet finally popped out of his shoulder and fresh blood started flowing. "Fucking finally." Dean groaned in relief, as Castiel started winding the bandages around his shoulder.

Castiel finished and moved back a little to give Dean some space. "There you go, can you stand?"

"Yeah I think so." Dean replied and he used his good arm to hoist himself off the ground.

"Let's head back to the truck I can bring you back to the city."

"Alright." Dean replied, trailing a few steps behind Castiel as he led them towards the truck. Dean was still anxious, despite how well Castiel had treated him, unlike other soldiers who probably would've shot him full of lead already. Even though he had been spared this time, once Castiel saw Sammy it would probably be a whole different story. They reached the truck and Castiel radioed Anna explaining how he was taking Dean back into the city.

As they drove back, Dean attempted to break the silence.

"So are you from around here?" He asked. When Castiel looked at him quizzically, Dean elaborated.

"I mean before all this crap happened, did you live in Pittsburgh or...?"

"Oh, right. No I didn't. I lived in Illinois." Castiel replied. Then he just stopped talking.

Dean sighed, "Clearly you're not much of a talker."

"I'm sorry, Dean, I didn't realize the conversation was not over." Castiel replied, glancing at him for a moment. "Anyways, when we get back, I will need to take you into processing as you did commit an infraction and it will go on your record."

"Right." Dean chuckled with a smirk. It didn't matter he was either going to be dead or gone very soon.

"Then you will show me where your brother is, and I will have to dispose of him." Castiel continued in a deadpan tone.

Dean immediately sat up straight, tense with anxiousness and fear, glaring at Castiel.

"No." Dean stated resolutely. "You are not killing Sammy."

"Dean." Cas tried to placate him. "If your brother is really infected there is no saving him."

"He's not gonna turn into one of those things!" Dean protested. "It's been three weeks since he was bitten! Three weeks! Everyone turns within a day! Two at most! This shit, it's fucking real."

"Dean, I'm not saying you don't believe that-"

"Cut the crap. You think I'm nuts, fine, but you'll see. Sammy is what could get us all out of this fucking mess, and if you shoot him... It'll just be a fucking waste."

The truck stopped in front of the entrance to the city and the intercom beeped.

"Name, Rank, and Assignment."

"Sergeant Castiel Novak, returning from a patrol in Sector 12."

"Any stragglers?"

"One."

"Proceed." The gate was opened and Castiel proceeded through, parking the truck in the parking lot.

"Alright, I'm going to take you down to processing. I won't have to cuff you, right?" Castiel asked.

"No, I can't run in here. I'm not stupid." Dean replied, rolling his eyes. Everyone thought he was a fucking rookie.

They processed Dean, asking him the usual questions, testing him, and giving him two infractions, one for traveling without his ID card and another for being outside the walls without explicit permission. He was lucky that he hadn't been caught before as these were first time offenses, not enough to throw him in prison.

Once they were done, Dean left the military compound, Castiel right on his heels. They headed towards Dean's apartment. He hoped he wouldn't have to kill Castiel. He wasn't that bad; he did patch him up, and spare his life. But nothing got between him and Sammy. Nothing and no one.

As they got farther and farther away from the military compound, the buildings started to get seedier, and vandalized with graffiti. 'Give us our rations!' was a popular one. He mentioned it to Castiel. "Sure you guys are gonna be able to control this?" Dean asked. "It doesn't seem to be one small group like all the other times." Castiel said nothing. On the building right next to theirs was a poignant threat. 'You'll die before we starve.' Castiel's silence betrayed a lot. Maybe the soldiers really would be overwhelmed.

They climbed up the dark stairwell and then Dean entered the apartment, finding Sammy fast asleep, but thankfully still alive. Every time he leaves, that was always a fear that haunted him, that he would come home to find Sam dead, or _worse._

"He has not turned yet." Castiel remarked.

"Yeah, like I said. For some reason the virus doesn't affect him the same."

"How did this happen? Surely you don't let your little brother outside of the walls?"

"No, of course not! The little shit snuck out." Dean remembered after they had calmed somewhat, and were lying in bed together, pressed all up against each other Sam told him the whole story.

It was dark and Sam was sleeping peacefully next to Dean when he was jolted out of sleep, feeling teeth at his neck. He jumped up grabbing the knife that was under his pillow and was brandishing it threateningly before he had even realized what had happened. Jess was standing there, stifling her laughter. Sam walked out of the bedroom, gently closing the door behind him and Jess before talking.

"What the hell?" He whisper-shouted. "I thought I was bitten!"

"Yeah, and it was hilarious!" Jess replied, wiping laughter tears from her eyes.

"What do you want, Jess? Why are you even here? And in the middle of the fucking night?" Sam questioned.

"Look." Jess beckoned him to study her necklace.

"Whoa." Sam's eyes widened in awe. "You're a Firefly." He stepped back looking at Jess angrily. "Is that where you've been all this time? You didn't even tell me!" Sam looked away sadly. "I thought you were dead."

"I'm sorry." Jess apologized, holding up her hands in a placating gesture. "I was going to, but things just got crazy." Then she perked up. "I'm here now though, and I had an awesome idea!"

"What?" Sam asked, intrigued, despite how much Jess had hurt him when she left without even a goodbye.

"I was thinking we could go out to the houses, you know, see what life was really like before this whole mess. I mean, Dean only has so many stories he can tell."

That was true, Dean's memory of _before_ was pretty limited, considering how young he had been before this whole mess happened. But still, it was dangerous.

"I don't know...What if something bad happens?"

"We'll be alright, Sam." Jess reassured him with a grin. "I have my gun, and you have your knife."

"You think that'll be enough?" Sam bit his lip worriedly, glancing back at the door to his and Dean's bedroom.

"You could always take Dean's." Jess suggested. Sam's eyes widened.

"No way. Dean would kill me. Plus the minute I'd try, he'd just wake up."

"Alright, then just your knife. Come on, let's go!" Jess left the apartment and Sam followed right on her heels after he put on shoes. They snuck through the alleys and eventually made it outside the wall, crossing the bridge to reach the suburbs.

"So what's the point of all this?" Sam asked. "I mean, yeah, you wanna see what life was really like before, but you wouldn't drag me out on your first day back like this just for that. What's really going on?"

"What a girl can't want to hang out with her best friend?" She asked. "I missed you."

Sam smiled at that. "I missed you too."

After another few minutes, they crossed the bridge and the suburbs stretched out before them.

"So?" Jess asked, her grin spreading as she looked at the rundown houses. "Which house you wanna hit?"

"Hmmm." Sam deliberated, looking around at all the quaint houses lined up in a row, some of them starting to fall to decay and rot. But further down the street, sticking out like a sore thumb, was a huge house, made of brick that looked fancy, and with sturdy wooden doors.

"That one." Sam decided, pointing towards it.

"Ooooh." Jess said, commenting on his choice. "I bet some fancy schmancy people lived there."

They walked towards the house, arm in arm. Once they reached the house, they tried to get inside, with little success. But eventually they managed to break one of the long rusted window locks and get a window on the ground floor open.

"Damn these people boarded up this house good." Jess groaned. "Boost me up and I'll unlock the door." Sam positioned himself against the wall and boosted Jess up so she could climb inside the now open window. Jess unlocked the front door and let Sam in.

"Wow..." Sam gaped in shock, looking around at the sheer amazingness of everything in here. The living room was huge, had comfortable, if dusty leather couches, and a huge flatscreen TV.

"I know, right!" Jess exclaimed. "You picked good, Sam. Come on let's look around." Jess took his hand and tugged him up the stairs. After stumbling upon a fancy bathroom with marble tiles, and the master bedroom, they found a teenage girls room. "Wow! Look at this!" The walls were painted a light green and there were posters everywhere. "Hmm...what's a Fall Out Boy?"

"Not sure." Sam replied, staring at the poster. "I think it might be a music group?"

"Oooh! Music! I wonder if this girl had CD's." She searched the drawers and only came up with clothes. "Damn."

"What about this?" Sam asked, showing Jess a speaker that was on top of the dresser. It was battery powered and when he turned it on, it still miraculously worked. The iPod on top turned on and gained enough charge to be used.

"Oh my god." Jess said in shock, a grin spreading across her face. "This is actually happening. Fuck, do you know how to use one of these things?" Jess asked frantically. almost vibrating with excitement.

"Yeah, barely." Sam scrolled through the song choices. "I have no idea what any of these songs are. Want to me just choose shuffle?"

"Sure. We'll skip if it's shitty."

The song came up and it read Irresistible by Fall Out Boy. The same group that was on that poster. They didn't know the words but they danced all the same and eventually the chorus had been repeated enough times that they could sing it.

_And I love the way you hurt me_  
_It's irresistible, yeah_  
_I love the way, I love the way_  
_I love the way you hurt me, baby_  
_I love the way, I love the way_  
_I love the way you hurt me, baby_

As the song ended Sam and Jess were laughing and smiling, it had been so long since they just let loose like that, since they had heard music at all actually. But then it was all ruined when they managed to hear it over the music. _Click-Screech-Click-Click-Click-Click-Screech!_ There were so many of them!

"Shit!" Jess exclaimed, turning the speaker off before grabbing her gun. "They must have been drawn here by the music."

"Jess, what do we do?" Sam asked, panicking, his heart starting to race.

"We're on the second floor and this house is fucking big, we can't jump out the window, we'll break our legs, and there's more outside. We're gonna have to fight them off so we can get out.

"Can we?" Sam asked apprehensively.

"I don't know, but what other choice do we have?" Jess asked futilely. The clicking was getting closer. "Come on."

They left the room and, sure enough, four clickers were ascending the stairs. They heard them and swarmed. Jess kept shooting her gun and Sam stabbed any one of them stupid enough to get too close, but they were still overwhelmed as more kept coming, clickers, runners. They managed to fight off the ones on the stairs and bolted out the back door running and running until they couldn't anymore. By then they had lost them. They stopped for breath in the gap between two houses three or four blocks down.

"Are you okay?" Jess asked Sam, frantic. Sam was bent over and breathing hard, trying to catch his breath after that desperate sprint.

"Yeah, yeah." Sam panted once he felt a little better. He stood up straight. "I'm okay."

"Wait, Sam." Jess  hesitantly looking at the red stain spreading on Sam's shirt. "You're bleeding."

"What?" Sam looked down and saw it. He lifted up his shirt gently and then he saw it, the teeth marks that had gone through the shirt and punctured his side. Sam blanched. "Oh no..." He looked up at Jess eyes brimming with unshed tears.  Jess hugged him tightly, taking care to avoid placing pressure on the wound. When they finally broke apart Sam's hand brushed against Jess's arm and she winced in pain.

"Jess?" He questioned as she looked away tears coming down her cheeks. "No! Not you too?" Sam exclaimed. "Show me." Jess shook her head but Sam grabbed her hand tugging her towards him. " _Show me."_  Sam demanded and Jess rolled up her shirt sleeve, showing him the bite on her bicep. "Oh god..."

"What are we gonna do?" Jess asked in a small voice.

"There's nothing left to do." Sam replied. He started to reach for Jess's gun and she jumped back.

"No!" She shouted. "I'm not gonna let you do that to yourself."

"I don't want to turn into one of those things!"

"Sam, we still have time."

"Not much."

"We can spend it together." Jess said walking back towards Sam, crowding into his personal space.

"Jess, what?"

"This is it Sam. The end of our world...why not end it right?" She leaned in and this time Sam jumped back startled.

"What? Jess, no! I don't want to..I don't want to do that stuff with you Jess. I can't, please don't ask me to." He blocked out the thoughts about who he would rather have kissing him.

"Oh." Jess blushed a deep red. "I'm sorry, Sam. I thought...well clearly I was wrong. It doesn't matter."

"I’m sorry…” He trailed off before nudging her with his elbow. "We cool?" He didn’t want their last night to be full of fighting.

Jess smiled. "Yeah, we're cool. Let's go inside." They went into the nearby house and explored again. They found another girl's room, this one full of fragile figurines with huge glassy eyes.

"Wow, look at those things. Super creepy huh?"

"Yeah." Sam chuckled softly. "Like who would actually buy these things?"

"I don't know!" Jess exclaimed, then they both burst out laughing. But once they calmed down Jess regained her somber demeanor.

"How can we care about stupid shit like this? We're about to die."

Sam put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I guess that makes everything funnier, more real."

"It's fucked up, that's what it is." Jess replied, sounding bitter. She grabbed the aluminum baseball bat resting on the wall in the corner and started smashing up the figurines in pure rage.

"Why?!" She shouted. "Fuck these stupid, fucking- gah!!" Jess cursed as she smashed up the figurines, shattered pieces flying everywhere. Sam just stood back and let her work it out of her system. Once all the figurines were smashed, she looked up at Sam, breathing hard.

"There's a TV downstairs if you wanna smash that?"

"No, I- no, I think I'm good." She laid down on the bed on her back. Sam joined her, but frowned in discomfort as the mattress felt weird.

"Hey, I think there's something under these blankets." He got up and dug until he pulled out a small book. "I think it's a diary."

"What's it say?" Jess asked as Sam got settled on the bed next to her.

"October 30, 2015-" Sam began to read. " _I still don’t have a costume and now I gotta either wear my lame kitty costume from last year or be a total dork and show up to the party in normal clothes. Only nerds do that and nerds don't manage to score a date with Ben. I gotta think of something._ "

"That's the last entry." Sam frowned.

"That's it?" Jess asked.

"Yeah."

"That's all they had to worry about? Boys? What costume to wear?"

"I guess so." Sam replied with a scoff. It seemed so much easier back then.

"It's not fair! Why couldn't we be alive earlier? Why couldn't we get to really live and all our worries be boys and costumes and parties!"

"I don't know, Jess. There's nothing we can do, though." Sam mumbled, turning to the side so he could cuddle up to Jess's side.

"There was so much I was gonna do." Jess continued sadly. "I never got a chance to tell you...before. But I was assigned to a research facility in Sioux Falls, I was gonna leave tomorrow...this was my last hurrah. I was gonna help the world. We were gonna help find a cure."

"I'm so sorry Jess." Sam consoled her. He paused for a moment. "But we should head back. I gotta tell Dean what happened."

"What? No!"

"Why not?" Sam asked, confused.

"We'll never make it back without getting shot, or we'll succumb to the virus first. Besides, what if we even do make it in? Do you want to be the one who forces Dean to kill you?" Jess asked. Shit, Sam thought. He hadn't thought about it that way.

"No...oh god, no, I didn't realize..."

"Please just stay with me, Sam. This bed is comfortable. We could fall asleep here, then we'll just never wake up. We can be all poetic and lose our minds together."

"Okay." Sam conceded. The bed really was comfortable and Jess was right, what was the point? They curled up together, spending their last few hours wrapped up in each others arms.

But then Sam woke up.

There was snarling and Jess was wriggling in Sam's arms. Sam jumped out of bed in shock. Jess was...Jess was snarling and smelled putrid. When she noticed him, she screamed and lunged. But Sam was too quick. He lunged for the gun still sitting on the bed and then shot her twice. She collapsed on the floor, dead, and Sam dropped to his knees next to her. The tears spilled out of his eyes, his heart felt heavy, and his stomach was tied up in knots.

What had just happened? He had killed Jess, but she was already dead and gone. But why was he still alive? Sam didn't know.

He picked up Jess's gun, his knife, and he unwrapped the Firefly pendant from her neck, putting it on his own and moved as if he was to leave. He had to go back to Dean. He was content with dying together with Jess, but now...things were different. He had to get back to Dean. If there was even the slightest chance that he could survive this, then he needed to be with Dean, the one who had always been there for him.

Dean sighed heavily after telling Castiel everything.

"That is horrible." Castiel muttered in shock after Dean told him everything. "For someone as young as Sam to experience that..."

"Yeah, Sam still isn't over it. He had to kill his best friend, you know? Even though he's sick, he still has nightmares about it."

"I can imagine." Castiel remarked, shaking his head slowly in disbelief.

"But we're no threat to you or the zone. Please just let us go. I just wanna get Sam to that facility Jess told him about. I think they can really help him." Dean pleaded. He was not above begging when it came to Sam.

"You make a compelling case." Castiel replied, eyes wandering over Sam. "May I examine him?"

"Yeah, go ahead." Dean acquiesced. "He's pretty out of it right now, but please be careful."

"Of course, Dean. I do not want to hurt your brother." Castiel told him sincerely, tilting his head quizzically when Dean glared at him.

"Yeah, okay." Dean muttered under his breath, but he let Castiel examine Sam. Castiel kneeled next to the mattress looking at Sam dazed out eyes.

"Where was your brother bitten?" He asked.

"On his left side." Dean answered and Castiel lifted up his shirt examining the healed over bite.

"This is not possible." Castiel stated matter of factly.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you this whole time, genius." Dean replied sarcastically.

"You were right. You and Sam both need to get to that facility."

"You don't care that it's run by Fireflies?" Dean asked disbelievingly.

"I could honestly care less. The military as a whole may hate Fireflies, but I am...indifferent. If they can help, why not let them?"

"You make a good point." Dean muttered slowly. "So will you let us go then?"

"No."

Dean looked crestfallen. "Look! You saw! Something's clearly different with Sammy-"

"Dean, I am not letting you go alone. I am going to help you. With my connections, I can get you a car easily."

Dean looked at Castiel, dumbfounded. "Wait, really?" He asked in disbelief. "You're actually gonna help us?"

"Yes, Dean. I joined the military because they were the best chance at putting an end to this hell. Now, you are. You're probably too young to remember what it was like... _before_ but if you knew well, you would do anything to get even a sliver of that back."

"I can agree with that." Dean replied. "So how are we gonna do this?"

"It will be very difficult because you were right, the city will definitely have a revolution on our hands sooner rather than later, not to mention Sam's state."

Dean knew that was true, unrest had been spreading all throughout Pittsburgh for the past several weeks and Dean knew from his connections that the Fireflies had abandoned Pittsburgh, that the job he had taken was one last thing they needed before leaving for good. And now some civilians would be planning an attack on the soldiers, trying to get supplies that didn't exist and create something better. But Dean knew what would happen. A revolution would just make this town worse. It would be time to go, even if Sammy wasn't sick.

"Don't worry, I can carry Sammy. But we need to get supplies along with the car."

"I can handle that." Castiel told him. "I'm going to go get everything we need and I want you to meet me outside the wall where we met."

"Wait, you're leaving us? Why can't-"

"I can't bring you with me, Dean. I'm not allowed to bring civilians outside of the wall, you'll need to find another way.  I know you know plenty."

"Yeah, true." Dean smirked. "But still, getting out there with Sammy isn't going to be easy." Dean muttered. He had been counting on Castiel's help.

"I know, Dean." Castiel sighed. "But I know you can do it."

Dean nodded solemnly. "Yes, I can do this."

"Good." Castiel replied. "Let's move." Dean bent down and scooped up Sammy into his arms, comforting him as Sam looked around confused.

"Hey Sammy, it's gonna be okay. Cas and I, we're gonna take you someplace that's gonna make you feel all better okay?" Dean saw Sam's slow nod. "Okay, good." He kissed Sam gently on the lips and then shifted him so that he was holding Sam piggy back.

He glared at Cas, daring him to say anything.

"You have a problem? Because I wanna know now, before I put our lives in your hands."

"Dean...He's your brother."

"I know, Castiel. We both agreed and consented, I've already gone through enough self-hatred for this. I don't need it from you too. Are we good?"

"I would like to hear it from Sam." Castiel requested.

"Alright." Dean craned his head back to talk to Sam. "Sammy, I know it's hard to talk right now, but you love me right Sammy? You want us?"

Sammy started talking slow, and slurred. "Deannn, yesss, Love, Dean." Dean looked toward Castiel.

"That good enough for you?" He asked condescendingly.

"Yes." Castiel replied. "It may not be...traditional, but who cares for tradition when the world is in shambles. You are hurting no one."

"Exactly. Thank you." Dean replied. He hoisted Sam further up his back. "Let's go."

They left the apartment and then went their separate ways, the soldiers thankfully not at all on their path to the North tunnel.  But as they got closer, Dean could hear gunshots, and he quickened his pace, that was never a good sign.

As they approached the building containing the North tunnel he could hear some people talking. "If anymore of those soldiers come by I'm gonna be pissed, the other squad was supposed to take care of them." One guy said.

"Well I didn't think everything was gonna go perfectly. Maybe one of the guys is down."

"True I didn't think of that- Hey! Did you see that?"

"What?"

"Someone's hiding over there in the alley."

Fuck. Dean thought. They spotted him.

"Show yourself or I'll shoot!" No way he could run away from this with Sammy on his back.

"Don't shoot!" Dean shouted, coming out from the shadows.

"My brother and I are just trying to get out of the city. It's not safe and he's sick. Can you let us pass?"

"You soldiers?" One of the guys asked, gun pointed at them threateningly.

"No way, man. I was just out on a job yesterday. I'm not a soldier."

"I think he's telling the truth." The other guy said.

"Yeah, man, I'm just trying to get my kid brother out, it ain't safe here." Dean continued.

"Alright, but the tunnel is swarming, some soldiers were trying to escape and they left the trapdoor open."

"Trying?" Dean questioned.

"We made sure they didn't succeed." The first guy said with a vicious smile that sent chills down Dean's spine.

"Okay, well don't worry about us, I think I can take care of some infected."

"Be my guest." The first guy chuckled, lowering his gun and stepping aside so that Dean and Sam could get through. Dean continued through the building until he found the entrance to the tunnel. He could hear the infected moaning and clicking. This would be frustrating and dangerous. He turned on his flashlight and looked around without making a sound. Luckily, Clickers were blind and somehow Runners never reacted to his flashlight.

There were four. Two Runners and two Clickers. He didn't have many supplies, just his pistol and shotgun, but using either would immediately cause the others to swarm. He also had his knife and since there were so many of them, that's what he had to use. Dean placed Sam down on the floor behind some cover. He hated leaving him behind, but he knew that there was nothing he could do. He couldn't do this with Sam on his back.

Dean creeped up behind a runner and right before it turned around, he grabbed it, stabbing it right in the neck. It went down with a soft gurgle as the Runner choked on its own blood. Three more to go. He went to go take out the next Runner, but then a Clicker came right at him! He barely had a chance to duck out it's path. Seeing his opening, Dean jumped on top of the Clicker's back stabbing it repeatedly in the brain until it died.

But this was very loud and quickly triggered the other two infected. Now, Dean had no choice. He pulled out his shotgun, using two rounds to blow the Clicker's head off and then one for the Runner's.

Dean breathed a sigh of relief when they were all dead and rushed back to Sammy.

"Hey, I'm back, I took care of all those sons of bitches." He picked up Sam again and started heading towards the exit. He placed Sam on top of the trap doorway and then climbed out himself. He pulled Sam back on his back and began the trek to where he had met Castiel.

His back was sore and his muscles tired; Sammy was small but he wasn't feather light, and he was dead weight. Dean could feel the sweat trickling down his brow at the exertion, but he pressed on. He could feel Sam slipping down his back and hoisted him up further.

"We're gonna make it, Sammy." He could see the rusted out car ahead of him, and headed over to it slowly, but just as he was about to put Sam down, he heard it. More Infected.

He peeked through the blown out windows of the car and saw that it was a whole horde! Shit, Dean thought to himself. They were fucked, there was no way he'd be able to get away with Sammy, and he didn't have enough ammo to take them all down. He could hear the faint gunshots coming from the city and he assumed that that what was drawing all of them in.

They were getting closer, but if Dean left this spot, the Runners would spot him and scream, causing an all out charge. All he could do right now was wait and pray.

Pray that Castiel would get here in time.

Pray that Cas would keep his word and not just abandon them at the first sign of trouble.

But he wasn't religious, and he didn't believe. So he scooped Sam up in a fireman’s carry so that he had one hand free to shoot and started running.

He could hear the screeches and moans of the Infected behind him and, after running for a short while, he glanced back to see four Clickers hot on his heels. He pulled out his gun and began opening fire, running backwards, not bothering to check where he was going so long as it was away from them! But that was his downfall, and Dean tripped. He fell, hitting the ground hard, Sammy tumbling out of his arms, his gun getting thrown. The Clickers were almost on him. He struggled to get up when he heard the rumble of a truck. Was it him?

"Get down!" He heard Castiel shout and Dean stayed down, closing his eyes. He could hear the firing of the machine gun. He opened his eyes a few moments later only to see all the Clickers that were in front of him, dead. He got up and grabbed Sammy and his gun before high tailing it to the truck.

He put Sammy in and then climbed in himself. Castiel sped off in a hurry leaving the few remaining Infected.

"Are you both alright?" Castiel asked once they had gotten far enough away.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm alright." Dean breathed out. He pulled Sam so that he was sitting up and checked him over for injury. He was bleeding a little from a medium sized cut on his temple, but nothing very serious, thankfully. "Sam seems mostly okay too."

"I'm glad I was able to rescue you both." Castiel sighed in relief.

"I don't understand. Why do you care so much? Why are you helping us?" Dean asked. "Yeah, I know all that bullshit you said before about a cure and stuff, but you don't just abandon everything for what could be nothing! Tell me the truth."

"Dean, please don't get so worked up. I am being sincere. I do want to help you, and everything I said before is true. But you don't know the whole story, and considering you trusted me with your life, I shall trust you."

Castiel remembered all those years ago. "Before everything, I had a normal life. A brother I loved, parents who were good to me, and my daughter, Claire, the light of my life."

Castiel heard his phone ringing as he was making dinner for him and Claire. He looked at the screen and saw that it was Gabriel. He picked up.

"Hello Gabriel."

"Bro! What's up?"

"I am making dinner."

"Cool, can I drop by?"

"Of course, you are always welcome, Gabriel."

"Great, because I was thinking, it's been way too long since we've gone out."

"Gabriel you know-"

"Yes, Claire, I got it. Which is _why_ I've already talked to Mom and Dad and they said they'll take her for the night." Castiel deliberated. "Come on, Cassie, please. It's been soooo long." Gabriel pleaded.

"Alright." Castiel agreed with a small smile. Gabriel was right, it had been a long time. His brother didn't understand. Gabe was a wanderer, flitting from place to place, Castiel and his parents were the only ties he had. Castiel had a three year old daughter and a 9 to 5 job.

"Great. I'll be there in 15 minutes." Gabriel said and then hung up. Castiel set the timer on the oven and then went out into the living room where Claire was watching cartoons. He picked her up into his arms.

"Hey Claire-bear. You get to stay over at Grandma and Grandpa's tonight! How's that sound?"

"Yay!" Claire exclaimed.

"Okay, let's go upstairs and you can help me pick out what you should wear tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah!" Claire giggled. They headed upstairs and Claire picked out a pair of jeans and a T-shirt reading, _Daddy's little angel_. They both heard the timer beep from downstairs.

"Food!" Claire exclaimed.

"Yes, Claire." Castiel headed downstairs to turn off the oven when the doorbell rang. "That must be Uncle Gabe." Castiel said.

"Unca' Gabe." Claire repeated.

"That's right, Claire." Castiel smiled at her as he opened the door.

"Hey! Where's my favorite niece?"

"Unca' Gabe!" Claire exclaimed as Gabriel took Claire from Castiel's arms and swung her around.

"Food's ready." Castiel said once Gabe was done. "Once we eat we can head out." He heard Claire giggling.

"Don't think I don't know about that candy Gabe." Castiel reprimanded him.

"Aww Cassie, kids need candy."

"After dinner, okay, Claire?"

"Okay, Daddy." Claire said and they headed into the kitchen where Castiel served the food.

"Wait." Dean interrupted suddenly. "You had a kid? Before all this? How old are you?"

"I'm 39, Dean. I was 23 when I had Claire."

"Oh, okay. Continue."

"After we ate dinner, Gabriel and I took Claire to our parent's house and then left for the bar."

"It's time to get shitfaced!" Gabriel exclaimed.

"For you maybe. I, however, am driving." Castiel gently reminded him. Gabriel sighed.

"Of course you are. But that doesn't mean you can't get laid." Gabriel winked at him exaggeratedly.

"Is that all you can think about?"

"Sex, and booze? Yeah that's pretty much my life bro, take it or leave it."

Castiel smiled a little. Typical Gabriel. They arrived at the bar and Castiel parked and they made their way inside ordering some beers.

The atmosphere was nice the music pumping and the dance floor full, but not overcrowded. They spent some time catching up and, while Castiel cut himself off at the third beer, Gabriel kept going. So of course, by the time they left, Gabriel was swaying and slurring, completely trashed.

Castiel supported him as they headed towards the car. Even though Gabriel was heavy, he had a slight smile on his face. He had really missed his brother. Then he heard something weird behind him. He craned his neck around and saw it was just some people. He kept walking, but the weird sounds were getting closer and he turned around again and the people were closer. He could hear some faint sounds that resembled fireworks. But it was too late in the year for the Fourth of July. Gunshots.

These were the Infected. The ones that had been on TV. How had the virus gotten up here so fast? Last he heard it was Iowa.

It didn't matter. The Infected were dangerous and they needed to go.

He hurried along as fast as he could, but it was difficult because Gabriel was so inebriated. "Gabriel, we have to hurry, we're in trouble." Gabriel sped up, but it didn't do much of a difference, and the Infected were gaining on them. They were getting closer to the car, and Castiel knew if they got there, they'd be able to get away. But then it was too late. The closest one lunged at them and Castiel fell. He pushed and kicked, managing to get the Infected off of them. He pulled Gabriel up to his feet and they both stumbled and staggered to the car, finally managing to get inside and speed away before the rest of the Infected caught up.

"Oh god, Claire!" Castiel thought aloud. Had the infection gotten to his parent's house yet? He needed to get to her!

He started speeding furiously towards that direction when Gabriel spoke up.

"Stop."

Castiel looked at him confused. "Why? I need to get to Claire, Gabriel!"

Gabriel pulled his shirt away from his collar revealing the bite. "You have to leave me behind."

"No, no way Gabriel. There has to be a way to fix this."

"No. You know there's no cure, and I have twenty four hours, probably less, before I turn into one of those things."

"You have a day! If I leave you behind, I'll never see you again. Please, Gabriel, let us just at least get Claire and our parents. That way you can say your goodbyes." Gabriel nodded.

"Alright, Cassie." He didn't really want any of them to see him turn into one of the Infected, but he wanted to say goodbye.

They continued driving on the surprisingly empty roads back towards their parent's house when a bus came barreling down the road right at them striking their car on Gabriel's side, plowing them into the parked cars on the side of road.

Castiel could feel his head bleeding and his eyesight was blurry and out of focus. But he could see enough to see that Gabriel...Gabriel was dead. Now his eyes were blurry from tears. He stumbled out of the car and threw up on the sidewalk. Cas rubbed his eyes, trying to clear his vision, and once he did, he could see the gruesome mess that was Gabriel's body. He didn't know how he had managed to get out mostly unscathed. He climbed back into the wreck of car and closed Gabriel's eyes.

"I love you, Gabriel. God, I'm so sorry...I hope you're in a better place now."

Then he left. He had to get Claire. He knew Gabriel would understand, but without a car, the journey was slow. It was almost 10 hours later that he appeared on his parent's doorsteps, worn out, clothes still stained with blood, having to fight off more Infected on the way there.

He entered the house and found it to be eerily quiet. Had they left?

He walked through the house and almost screamed when he discovered it. It was his father's body. His skull was crushed, and his throat was ripped apart to the point where he could see the bone.

Now he was beyond scared. His father was dead, the man who had raised him and Gabriel, the man who he could trust with anything, was gone. And with him gone, it was becoming ever more likely that his mother and Claire had met the same fate.

_Squish. Crunch._ He heard those sounds coming from the kitchen. and when he entered, he nearly puked again, his stomach turned so much at the sight of his Infected mother _eating_ his child. His daughter that he had entrusted to her for safekeeping.

"Get off of her!" He screamed lunging at the thing that used to be his mother. He kept punching and punching over and over tears streaming from his face sobs wrenched from his body, only stopping when his mother was now just a bloody pulp, barely twitching. But it was too late. Claire was gone.

"That's when I knew." Castiel whispered to Dean, who was watching the older man with sad eyes as he told his story. "That's when I knew that, if it was within in my power, I would do _anything_ to stop anyone from ever having to feel that pain. It's why I joined the military, back when they were doing more good than harm. They haven't been like that in a long time, and I was toying with the idea of leaving. But you and your brother was what gave me the push I needed."

"We're nothing special. Sammy, maybe. But we could easily get you killed. Why us?"

"Well, I believe that Sam is the key to ending this hell, but it's not just that. To be honest. You remind me of my Claire. She'd be about your age now. I know you're not her but I can't help it. I apologize."

"It's alright." Dean shrugged. "Everyone sees the ghost of someone they lost somewhere."

"But it's our job to move past them and survive." Castiel told him.

"Endure and survive." Dean corrected. "Moving past them sometimes isn't an option. Sometimes they're all we have left of anything good. Of our humanity." Dean stroked Sam's hair, looking at him lovingly as he said it.

"I can agree with that." Castiel replied.

They continued driving West, the scenery flashing by. Neither of them knew what was coming up ahead, whether Sam was the cure the world needed, or whether the lab even existed anymore. But they did have something that would keep them going. Hope.

  



End file.
